Succumb to the Heat
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Heat was never something that bothered Elsa... never something she had to fear... until now.


_**I don't own Frozen**_

_**Oh come on! Elsa has power over ice and can't feel the cold… sort of. Well, there's no proof she doesn't feel it, but it doesn't bother her. Anyway, I figure, if the cold doesn't bother her, the heat must. So, I just thought I would write something pertaining to that. Enjoy.**_

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Elsa should have seen it coming. She really should have. The whispers were getting much more frequent, the suspicious gazes more distrustful, and the lies more blatant. She had assumed that she would be able to handle whatever they did to her and if she couldn't, then the guard certainly could. However, she was not prepared for the one thing she had never really had to face before.

Heat.

It wasn't something she normally had to shy away from. Despite having control over wintry weather, Elsa had been born in the summer. She always enjoyed the season because the heat wasn't overbearing or uncomfortable to her cool skin. And it gave her a reason to tease her sister about her freckles when they were younger, resulting in Anna putting a tanned hand in Elsa's pale and comparing them for around five minutes before asking about having a snowball fight near the stables.

The castle was never too hot or too cold, the servants always keeping the fires at just the right temperatures to keep all members of the royal family comfortable. Elsa had never really been in a fire accident or been out on an exceedingly hot day so the threat of heat never really bothered her… until now.

It was during a meeting. They were discussing the incoming load of goods as a peace offering from Weselton and the councilmen were trying to decide how to go about politely declining, if the queen so wished. Elsa had noticed the slightly higher than normal temperature of the fires in the room, but hadn't said anything because it was a bit frigid outside.

Focusing on the issues at hand, Elsa once again went over the paperwork she'd received from the council and cocked her head. "Gentlemen, I can understand that this matter would be assumed as tedious considering the events that went on between myself and the Duke's men. However, I believe we should take into account the state of our fair Arendelle. Without a close enough partner in trade, we are not likely to make very much income from exports and that will cause a riot in the streets."

"Yes, but Your Majesty, we were simply taking into consideration the fact that the Duke's men attempted to kill you on his orders because of something you couldn't control and therefore letting him back into the kingdom-."

Elsa had begun zoning out quite frequently during the meeting. The fires had been stoked higher periodically, different men of the council calling for them to be renewed and claiming that there was a chill going around the room. Elsa herself felt that the room was a bit stuffy and that the excess heat was making it hard to breathe. Swirling a cold wind around herself momentarily, the monarch took in a deep breath of it, releasing the breath after a moment to focus on the discussion once more.

The men were now discussing among themselves the weather within the room. One of the men stood and called, "More heat, please. For some reason it seems rather drafty. We can't have the queen catching a cold!"

Elsa groaned as the fire was stoked higher. The air began getting heavy and her head felt fuzzy. Glancing down at her hands, Elsa noticed the perspiration on the palms and cocked her head in confusion. Her body temperature was always too low for her to sweat. Whereas fifty-seven degrees would normally render most humans as dead, she herself would be considered sick if it was higher than seventy-six. She had never sweat a day in her life, her body temperature never rising quickly enough due to her magic.

Staring at the perspiration once more, Elsa could feel more of it on the back of her neck and along her stomach. The sensation was strange. It was almost like… like… almost as if… as if…

_Melting._

That's right; it was as if she were melting._ But I'm not made of ice… ice… I enjoy the ice. The way it shimmers in the light, especially the morning frost… it's beautiful… oh gods, my brain must be turning to mush!_

Understanding that she needed to get to a cooler place before she actually did melt, Elsa measured the distance to the door and deduced that she could make it before her head became too muddled.

Standing, the disoriented queen turned toward the door. "E-excuse me." She breathed, taking a few staggering steps toward the exit.

"Your Majesty, is everything alright?" One of the councilmen asked, poorly hiding the sneer on his lips.

"A-actually, I… I don't feel well at all…" Elsa watched the room sway around her and everything began blurring, becoming increasingly hazy.

The young queen stumbled to her knees, crawling slightly along the floor. One of the councilmen grabbed a torch from the wall and rushed to her side, placing the flaming stick extremely close to her. Elsa slumped fully to the ground, the heat taking hold of her. Her thoughts were muddled and she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Your Highness?" the councilman asked, leaning closer. His voice echoed deeply in her ears and he sounded far away. With one last groan, Elsa finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

_**…**_

Anna was in the middle of teaching Olaf how to read one of the children's books in the library when a guard rushed in, out of breath and attempting to conceal his panic.

"Your Highness!" he gasped. "Princess Anna, something's happened with the queen."

"Elsa?" Anna quickly stood and followed the guard to the council room. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she raced through the halls, several different scenarios rushing through her mind at what could be wrong with her sister. Had someone broken in and attacked? Had Elsa had another bout of tiredness and collapsed? Was she suddenly down with some unknown incurable illness?

Nearing the council room, Anna noticed a shock of red hair around a bald spot and felt a small hint of relief at knowing Kai was with her as well. Moving closer, she found Kai and Gerda rushing forward as a guard carried Elsa from the room while several other armed men kept the councilmen lined up against the wall, hands in the air.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted, making a beeline for the guard holding her sister.

Kai beat her to it and had the guard set the queen down. Elsa's features were flushed, something that rarely ever happened due to her low body temperature. It was about then that all three of them – Gerda, Anna and Kai – felt the heat radiating from the council room. They all turned to each other in panic and the steward bent down closer to his ruler.

"She's really warm!" Kai gasped, touching his monarch's cheek. "She's never supposed to be warm! Gerda, get her to the infirmary quickly."

The maid nodded and quickly lifted the queen, hurrying in the direction of the infirmary as Kai turned to the other member of the royal family. He was about to ask her if she knew anything about the incident, but the fire igniting behind Anna's eyes made him recoil in fear and keep silent.

"Kai." Anna took a deep breath to stop a growl from entering her voice. "Go to the infirmary with Gerda. I want a full report of Elsa's condition when I get there. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty." The steward replied, turning and rushing away, afraid that if he didn't leave fast enough, he would incite her wrath upon him.

Anna turned to the leader of the squadron of the guards that had the councilmen cornered. "Tell me everything that happened!" she ordered, still fighting the growl building in her chest.

"My men and I were patrolling, your highness." The guard responded immediately, not liking the glint that had formed in the princess' eyes. "We were moving around this area to make certain no one disturbed the meeting the queen was having. I was just passing by when one of the councilmen walked out and waved me over.

"He looked scared, so I assumed something had happened inside. He told me that the other members of the council were planning something that had to do with the queen and it was to take place today. When I pressed for more details, he responded by saying that they had kept him out of the planning. I nodded and had a pair of

my stealthier soldiers slip into the room to watch the goings-on and make certain no harm came to the queen."

He paused and Anna raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What are you not telling me, Lieutenant?"

"Your Highness, I mean no disrespect, but it was the strangest thing. They said something about the queen melting. The men were having the servants stoke the fires higher and higher under the pretense of being cold. The queen was becoming more and more disoriented the higher the fires roared. It was almost as if… as if she herself was made of ice and the fires were causing her to melt."

Anna nodded. "Your men have done well tonight, Lieutenant. Have them place each of the councilmen in different cells until I am able to interrogate them all singularly. Do not let them speak to each other and do not leave them unguarded. Am I clear?"

"Understood, your majesty." The guard saluted her before bowing and turning to give the orders to his men. Anna turned in the opposite direction, following in Gerda's footsteps toward the infirmary.

There, she found Kai explaining to the nurses on hand what had happened to their monarch while Gerda kept a cold rag on Elsa's head. "How is she?" she called.

Kai nearly stumbled over himself as he rushed to her side. "Er, the queen's body temperature is hovering somewhere around eighty five degrees at the moment, Princess. She appears to be sweating, but whenever any of the sweat is removed, a portion of her skin comes with it. The nurses have deduced that the queen was doing something akin to melting and that it would be safer to simply leave the sweat on her body so that it can solidify once more when her body temperature gets low enough."

"And her mind?" Anna inquired, turning to him brusquely.

"H-her mind, Your Highness?"

"Has she woken long enough for the nurses to determine how disoriented she is?"

"No, Majesty. She has not yet woken up as far as Gerda can tell." Kai watched something flicker within his princess' eyes and wondered what was wrong.

"We must watch her closely, Kai." Anna whispered to him lowly. "The guard I spoke with mentioned something about melting and that she continued to become disoriented the higher the fires roared. We must make certain her mind is still intact once her temperature is low again."

Kai bowed respectfully and murmured, "Yes, Your Highness."

Anna nodded and turned, drawing a chair to the side of Elsa's bed and beginning her vigil. She called for a cloak to be brought to her and the fires to be completely put out. It was going to be a chilly night.

_**…**_

Elsa was floating on water. It was a warm temperature, very soothing and relaxing. Every now and then, she would move her arms and send ripples panning out around them. This place, wherever she was, was so serene and tranquil. It was almost as if she could stay right where she was forever.

A flash of red caught her eye and she followed it, wondering what it could be. Diving below the water, the queen spotted a mermaid gesturing to her, large blue eyes twinkling mischievously. _Anna__?_ Elsa wondered, following after her sister, who had begun swimming toward a large glowing pearl.

_What's_ _that?_ Swimming closer, Elsa watched her sister put a hand against the pearl and disappear inside it. Cocking her head, the blonde was surprised to hear sounds coming from inside the pearl. "Elsa, please be okay." a soft voice sobbed quietly, sniffles following soon after.

_That sounds a lot like Anna._ Just as the thought crossed her mind, an image of Anna's tear-stained face blurred inside the pearl and Elsa gasped, forgetting that she was underwater. It made no difference, however, as she began swimming quickly for the large glowing orb, wanting to console her little sister. Reaching out to touch the pearl, Elsa felt herself slip right through it and suddenly, everything was nothing more than bright light.

Groaning slightly, the young queen slowly turned her head to judge whether or not it was too badly in pain to sit up. When no needles instantly assaulted her mind, she deemed it safe and slowly sat up, looking around to gauge her surroundings.

She appeared to be in the castle infirmary, which was off since she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. The nurse maids were bustling around at the other end of the room but the chair beside her bed was occupied. Trying to get her eyes to focus properly, she noticed a mop of red hair. "A-Anna?" She inquired, eyed narrowing to try seeing better.

The redhead snorted before jerking awake. "Elsa?" Anna instantly bolted up, glancing to her sister and smiling when she noticed the blonde was awake. "Oh thank gods, you're awake!"

Elsa was unprepared for the hug that her sister pulled her into, but awkwardly managed to respond. "W-where am I? What happened?"

"You're in the infirmary." Anna replied. "You've been asleep for two days." Elsa's eyes widened in horror and Anna jumped to soothe her. "Don't worry; none of your meetings were canceled. I just attended them in your stead. Weselton is going to be an ally of ours again and a strong trading partner, but they've been sent a warning that any further attempts at regicide will not go unpunished."

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. "As for what happened… the council tried to take you out." Elsa glanced up at the tremble in her sister's voice and found tears in Anna's eyes as the redhead gazed at her. "The guards stopped the men from doing anything to you, thank gods, but the heat definitely took a toll on you."

Elsa saw her sister's tears begin falling and she reached a shaky hand up to stroke her cheek. "I-I'll be fine, Anna."

Anna held the hand close, moving it to the spot right above her heart as she looked into the shaky unfocused eyes. "You had better be."

_**…**_

The next day, Elsa was cleared by the nurses to return to her room and rest for a day or two in order to give the rest of her body enough time to recover. Anna lifted Elsa into her arms, still loathe to let anyone near her beloved sister. Elsa put her arms around Anna's neck and held on tight as they made their way to her bedroom. Setting Elsa on the bed, Anna straightened up and turned away.

Elsa noticed her sister beginning to retreat and called, "Aren't you going to stay?"

Anna stopped and turned to look at her. "No, I've got a speech in front of the castle staff."

Elsa cocked her head in confusion. "A speech? About what?"

Anna's expression darkened, something Elsa had never seen before. Her sister looked absolutely terrifying. "About you. Excuse me, Your Highness."

"Wait!" Elsa slowly began trying to sit up. "I want to be with you."

"No." The tone made the downed queen stop in her tracks. It was authoritative, concrete, leaving no room for argument. "You stay here and rest. This will only take a moment."

Elsa nodded, keeping her eyes on her sister's back, wondering what had just happened.

_**…**_

Anna made her way down the halls of the castle, assuming the disposition Elsa would usually wear as queen. The guards she passed on her way to the courtyard suddenly saw the resemblance between her and their monarch clear as day. The way their eyes froze, the set of their mouths, the rise of their necks… everything about the way they acted screamed 'royalty'.

Coming onto the steps that led down into the courtyard, Anna surveyed the staff with a stoic eye, connecting with all of them to convey the seriousness of the situation. Taking a deep breath, Anna felt the words come to her easily and she suddenly understood how Elsa was able to charm an entire room or order an entire guard: They were born for this.

"Recently, there has been an incident involving our fair Queen Elsa. As some of you may recall, she was incapacitated during a meeting with the council because of the fires being too hot for her to handle. Those of you who are veterans of the castle understand the temperatures that are needed for each individual day, month and season. In winter, the fires are higher than in the summer, you all should understand that.

"However, I would like to clarify a few things to you all. The temperatures of the fires are not to be tampered with from now on. Unless myself or the queen says otherwise, fires are to be kept at the same temperatures that have been used for years before the castle gates were opened. This of course, brings me to my most important issue: the queen." All of the servants stood at attention immediately, ready to please their ruler and Anna let a soft smile flicker on her face before returning to the queen mask she'd seen Elsa use so often.

"Keep the fires low in any room Queen Elsa occupies." She ordered the servants, pacing in front of them, sea green eyes stony and cold as she leveled them all. "If I find even one fire roaring above medium heat, I will see to it that whoever attended that particular room is hung within the next _hour_ of me finding out. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." The servants all called.

Anna nodded to them all as a sign of dismissal and they quickly returned to their duties, not wanting another reason to be gathered in front of the obviously upset princess. Anna smiled at last and turned, her face softening as she made her way back down the hall, the guards relaxing at the cooled situation. Heading back to the queen's room, Anna smiled as Elsa looked up at her arrival.

"How did it go?" the queen asked with a slightly worried expression.

Anna simply smirked and said, "I'm fire… you're ice. We were born for this. Now get some sleep."

Elsa smiled and lay down, patting the bed. Anna took the hint and cuddled into her sister, holding Elsa close as the queen settled down to sleep. Not realizing that she had used quite a bit of adrenaline to deal with the servants today, Anna drifted off as Elsa slipped into slumber, neither princess disturbed by the differing temperatures of their bodies.

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_**And there you go. No smut. No romance. Just some sisterly love. Drop me a review for my trouble.**_

_********__****__Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile. _


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